A U-T San Diego/10News poll found that 69 percent of San Diego County residents rate Lansdowne’s handling of the case as fair to excellent while 19 percent gave him a “poor” rating.

In addition, 48 percent of respondents said Lansdowne should remain police chief while 24 percent said he should step down. Twenty-seven percent said they weren’t sure.

Officer Christopher Hays, 30, who stands accused of inappropriately touching or forcing four women to perform sex acts from October to December, has been charged with two felony counts of false imprisonment and three misdemeanor charges of sexual battery. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday.

The poll, conducted Monday by SurveyUSA, surveyed 600 county residents. Of those, 86 percent said they were familiar with news stories about the case. The results regarding Lansdowne were among those familiar with the case and had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

It’s the latest incident of alleged officer misconduct in recent years, including the 2011 sex corruption case of Officer Anthony Arevalos.

Lansdowne has proposed an audit that would look at the handling of misconduct cases, recruiting, the backgrounding process, ethics training and the internal affairs system. The audit could take from six months to a year and a half, and potentially cost $80,000 to $200,000. The final report would be made public.

The poll also found that 86 percent of residents said a person who wants to carry a concealed weapon should have to pass a training course.

Respondents were more divided about whether someone needs to show a specific concern for their personal safety in order to carry a concealed weapon — 51 percent said yes, 45 percent said no.